Ontario Pt. 4(6) - Lake Superior

We left Thunder Bay with Felix setting the pace. He had a plan to reach Nipagon and invited us to ride with him and share the ‘warm showers’ hosting he had organized.

 

 The geology changes around Lake Superior and the red rock formations and patterns were really pretty in sunlight.

This section of highway is paved wonderfully and we enjoyed a luxurious wide lane all the way North.

The road cuts through the red rock in places, obscuring your view of the lake, but a very interesting part of the scenery nevertheless.

We enjoyed a lovely evening with Tim as our host. Spaghetti was perfect! Felix and Andrew stayed up late working on Andrew’s bike which was having some shifting issues.  We didn’t fix it…. but we didn’t make it worse….. yay!

At Nipagon the highway splits to the #11 which is less hilly and a few less kilometres so that becomes the major trucking route.

We opted for the #17 along the lake which would mean tackling some pretty big hill climbs in exchange for much better scenery and less transport traffic. 

The views are incredible along Lake Superior’s North shore and the hills were nothing like the terror we had been warned of. 

All the way across the country people had been talking up the section around the North Shore as being probably the most difficult of our journey. There was apparently to be no shoulder, crazy truck drivers, and insurmountably steep never ending hills. 

Let me tell you, those people have obviously never ridden a mountain pass in BC because the ride around superior is basically flat by comparison. 

Of course there was some elevation gain, to be real, but 6 or 7% grades for a kilometer or two at a time was not a memorable hardship for us after the Rockies and the ride was really enjoyable.  Every uphill is followed by a matching downhill and you can coast and relax for kilometres making it easier to log long days than what we had experienced even in the prairies. 

There were lots of friendly horn toots and waves encouraging us on. Certainly all of the cross country cyclists pass through this area and these drivers are well accustomed to encountering bikes on the shoulder and leaving plenty of space. Kudos to the residents of the towns along the #17!  

Ryan stopped his car on his way home from work to hand us Gatorades and a whole flat of bottled waters.  Of course we couldn’t carry all of it on our bikes, so he offered his phone number and said “text me for more waters when you get to Terrace Bay” further up the road.  What a guy!

Stops for lunch and snacks came with friendly encounters, and we really enjoyed our riding days with Felix along Lake Superior. 

Camping spots with a great view are easy to find, and riding long days was proving much easier than we had feared. Certainly by this point we’re in better shape than when we left Victoria, but the conditions also allow for long rides and pleasant breaks. 

Felix is a very organized rider.  He kept a nice tempo, and had very well planned stops for breaks and camping locations. He was quite aware of the weather movements and planned our days and pace accordingly. It was much more than just luck that had kept Felix out of the rains we had been experiencing along our trip and he had the patience and good sense to stay behind the weather systems and not try to race them. 

Smaller lakes dot the path and we camped at a boat launch with a beautiful beach that we had all to ourselves.  Thanks to good luck charm, Felix, we’re enjoying sunny evenings that make it warm enough for a lovely swim after riding, and washing and drying clothes.

Here Nelson provides service as a coffee table, following with the philosophy that every item carried on the bicycle be useful for more than just one purpose. 

Lakes and ‘private’ beaches are the highlight of the trip around Lake Superior. The camera roll is full.  Shot after shot of perfect lake with a fantastic sunrise or sunset. 

Simran stopped us to offer waters. He was very impressed with our ambition.  He had joint and muscle rub to give out as well, which we’ve used nearly every night since, and spontaneously provided a gift of a pair of super fly sunglasses. 

Modelled here by yours truly, the perfect accessory for cloudy days both on and off the bike.  As Simran drove off, the glasses stayed on, (in case we encountered him further up the road, lol).  A prized possession that means we will remember him and his generosity forever. 

More lake, in case you haven’t had enough.

Now is time to finally talk about these straps we’ve encountered along every highway shoulder in every province all the way from BC. 

There must’ve been a truck load that drove all the way across the country with the back door wide open because these black rubber straps with the little metal hooks that one gets at a Princess Auto are distributed at regular intervals in our path everywhere we’ve ridden. 

Clearly it would be foolish to purchase these in a store, when one could merely travel the shoulder of any Canadian highway and scoop up a fat stash of them in perfect condition.  

Although probably also obviously foolish, they’re clearly not great for securing a load…. 

From Marathon to Wawa the highway leaves the shore of Lake Superior, but the scenery does not deteriorate in the least.  More small lakes.

The highway is marked as a bike route, and we’re sure these signs contribute to the positive attitude towards cyclists that we’ve experienced in the region.

We came across Rebecca as we climbed and she descended near White River. She is travelling across Canada from East to West, back home to BC and had ridden with Felix while they were both on the eastern coast.  Him encountering her again here yet another surreal instance of timing and coincidence that makes the world feel much smaller. 

Rebecca ‘froggered’ across the highway for hugs and the customary group selfie using Sherrie’s go go gadget selfie arm. 

More lake.

We rolled into Wawa (Goose) late and hungry. Felix had organized another ‘warm showers’ host for all of us. Sophie, who had been about 50 or 60 kilometres ahead of us all week, was going to meet us there as well and we were looking forward to reuniting. 

Checking the maps carefully, we had discovered a potential shortcut leaving Wawa that could save us around 140 kilometres. Very tempting. We all discussed it at length.  Felix was having none of it.  He had been carefully analyzing the weather forecasts and was planning to continue through to Sault St. Marie where he would take a day off and wait out the rain from the comfort of another warm showers host he had arranged. 

Clever. 

The rest of us were now really feeling the pressure to get to the last ferry of the season leaving Sydney, Nova Scotia, for Newfoundland, that would allow us to complete our intended goal of reaching St. John’s.

The allure of saving at least a full day was great enough to convince us, and Sophie, to take the shortcut through Chapleau, and Sultan, bypassing some beautiful Lake Superior scenery, and potentially riding in some rain. 

Pffft.  What does Felix know…..

Thanks for a great hosting Danika! 

Route choices made, we headed East with Sophie and said goodbye to Felix.  Maybe we’d connect again through Montreal, we’ll see.  

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